Watch your step
by Kouto
Summary: Having lost her sight during the New York attack, a young girl deals with living in large city. Returning home one evening, she bumps into a stranger. Then their relationships develops around twists and turns that both pull them together and push them apart.
1. Chapter 1

_**Watch your step -**__Loki x Blind!OC _

_Summary: Having lost her sight during the New York attack, a young girl deals with living in large city. Returning home one evening, she bumps into a stranger. _

* * *

She was walking down the sidewalk, moving her walking stick in front of her to ensure that she wasn't going to bump into something or fall into a hole (not that it would be the first time it happened, anyways). She sighed lightly, feeling the chill evening breeze play in her hair. Pulling her jacket closer, suddenly her walking stick slipped, causing her to stop dead in her tracks. Listening closely, she tried to figure where it had fallen before she turned to the right, took a step and instead of bending down, she bumped into something.

Or...someone. From what she could sense, a tall person was standing right in front of her. She assumed she had bumped into their back because she felt movement as soon as she touched them as then she almost immediately fell down on her bum. She was unsure and confused. She didn't know whether the person pushed her intentionally or she fell because of the swift movement, but either way, she gasped when she touched the ground, cursing out loud.

"Puny creature, how dare you bump into me on the streets? Watch your step." a deep, smooth slightly English-accented voice boomed from above her. She could sense the anger and she winced slightly before regaining her composure and usual wittiness.

"Hah. If only it was that easy. You see, I can't exactly watch my step." she hissed through her teeth, pointing towards her eyes before her hands started palming the ground around her. She made a slight 'Ew' sound when her hand touched a gum and she let an exasperated sigh, starting to sit up.

"Have you seen my walking stick?" she dusted off her tush, continuing to mumble. Seeing that he didn't answer, she moved a hand forward, looking for him. She felt the silky material of what she supposed it was a scarf so she kept talking.

"Are you deaf or what? Did you see where my walking stick flew?" she asked, a bit angered, hoping that she wouldn't have to make her way home without it.

"Walking...stick?" he questioned, slightly amused at her reaction, surprisingly, even for him, not pushing her away as she gripped his scarf.

"Umm, yea, you know. White stick with a red handle that blind people use when walking? It kinda fell. That's why I bumped into you. I was looking for it. Can you tell me where it is?" she asked, bored and slightly pissed.

"Well, yes. It happens to be in the middle of the street." he answered, fighting back a chuckle at the expression on her face changed to one of outer shock.

"No no no no. Please no. Tell me there are no cars coming its ... " a loud crack noise interrupted her and she facepalmed before continuing. "...way." He simply chuckled, growing more amused by the second. Which only infuriated her further. Did he not understand the situation?!

"This is not funny, ok? I don't care who you think you are but laughing at a disabled person is wrong. I needed that goddamn stick to walk home. Now I will have to blindly find my way back. And I'm cold. And it's late. Keep laughing!" she huffed, her face red with anger and frustration as she folded her arms, accidentally pulling on the scarf more.

He stepped closer, grabbing her hand that held the scarf to pull it free. Flicking his fingers, the air around them suddenly got colder and she pulled away.

"Ugh, what are you doing? Let go of my hand and tell m-.." her voice caught up when she felt him forcing her palm open as he pressed something into her hand.

"W-what's this?" she raised her other hand and felt the object, soon realizing that it was another walking stick. "How did you?!" she inquired, extending it to test it on the pavement. It was very similar to her old one.

"Is it the same one? It kinda feels lighter..." she whispered, inspecting it with her fingers. "What colour is it here? Still red?"she asked, palming the handle.

"It's green with a golden stripe." he finally answered her before taking another step and placing something around her neck. Raising one hand, she felt the same material as the one of his scarf.

"What are you doing?" she asked yet again, extending the same hand, trying to touch him, for emphasis. She found his face and although he flinched slightly, she traced his jawline, lips and nose.

"You're handsome." she grinned widely, without knowing, causing the same reaction on him.

"And you're pretty, you little angry minx." he whispered somewhat seductively, catching her hand and kissing her knuckles. "You're welcome, by the way."

"Oh. Yea. Thank you. I should...I should head home. Thank you for the stick, Mister." she released the breath she hadn't realized she was holding before taking her hand back. Turning to the left, she opened her mouth to say her goodbyes, only to feel two strong arms grip both of her shoulders, turning her to 180 degrees.

"You were walking that way." he whispered in her ear, slightly pushing her forward.

"Ugh. Thank you again." she muttered, putting her stick to the ground and proceeding to move forward.

She wanted to say goodbye, but she soon felt that one hand moved to her back, resting between her shoulder blades as he walked with her.

"What are you doing?" she inquired, for the billionth time that evening, looking up into the general direction of where she expected him to be.

"Walking you home. I believe you mentioned it being too late and too cold?" he answered, tugging slightly at the scarf tightly tucked around her neck.

"You don't have to..."

"Yes, I do. You seem an intriguing little thing." a smile she could not see spread on his features as he saw her grimace at his words.

"I'm a person, not a thing." she mumbled, slightly wiggling her shoulders in an attempt to push him off.

"Shhh." he breathed a bit too close for her to feel comfortable as he pressed his hand harder to her back.

"By the way. Where did you get this cane from?" she scooped it up, almost hitting him with it as she stopped, upon declaring that they have reached their destination.

"Magic." he whispered and she suddenly didn't feel his presence anymore. She turned around a couple of times, hoping she would accidentally hit him and see whether he was there or not, but nothing happened.

"Well...goodbye.." she shrugged and made her way to the front door. Pushing it open, she thought she heard a light chuckle. "Weirdo." she whispered before getting inside and locking the door.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Watch your step II**___

Summary: The mysterious stranger 'bumps' into our OC at a cafe, totally by chance.

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Day after day passed since her awkward encounter with the stranger that gave her the scarf and new walking stick. She hadn't seen...er...heard him around ever since and although she knew it was childish and stupid, she hoped he would randomly pop up in front of her so she could bump into him again. The rational part of her mind told her that she should return the scarf. The less rational one was rational enough to use that as an excuse to meet him again.

And thus, spring was coming and it was about time she stopped wearing such a cozy scarf, but hey, another day wouldn't matter much, right? Having had the scarf described to her, she always made sure it worked with the rest of her outfit, just like the day she put it snugly around her neck and made her way out of the house, locking and double checking before putting the key into her inside-pocket of the jacket just to make sure nothing happened to it. When you can't see, things always go wrong if you lose something important. She had learned it the hard way.

With a sigh, she started down the street, unconsciously counting the steps she took. It's not like she had to anyways, by now she knew, but it was a habit. The small tea-shop she visited weekly was only 487 steps away from her house. Which luckily meant she had to cross only one street and walk past a park. But it wasn't that bad. It's been two years since she lost her sight. Everyone in the neighbourhood was used to it by now and they were trying their best to protect her. In all honesty, they made her life much easier.

The familiar doorbell rang as she entered the small cafe, going straight to the counter after closing her walking stick and putting it into her bag.

"Good morning, Alana. How are you today?" a cheerful voice greeted her.

"Good morning, Cath. I'm good, thank you. How's business?" she asked the cashier and old friend of hers, one of the few who stuck to her after her accident.

"Wonderful, so far. I see you're still wearing the green scarf, huh? You didn't find it's mysterious owner yet?" the blonde woman asked, a grin gracing her features, although she was aware the short redhead couldn't see it.

"Well, even if I did, it's not like I could recognize him. I was kind of hoping he would see it and ask for me to give it back. I guess not." she shrugged, unconsciously running a hand over the scarf, inhaling the scent.

"I see you still sniff it from time to time. Is the scent really there or are you going crazy?" the blonde cashier asked, slightly amused by her friend.

"It's still there." the girl frowned, trying to glare although she didn't know if she succeeded. "Do you have them?" she questioned, changing the subject to the one that interested her at the moment. Whether or not there were any vanilla muffins left. It was asking out of habit, knowing that Cath usually saved some for her every Wednesday morning, but she asked anyways.

"Erm..." that was odd. Usually Cath was preparing her order by now. "You see, Alana..."

"You don't have vanilla muffins?!" she asked in disbelief.

"No...not really...Ten minutes ago this creepy dude ordered them all and then proceeded to sit down and not even touch them.

"Awww, damn creepers... I should have left the house earlier. Anyways, please tell me that you still have strawberry muffins. At least that."she said hopefully.

"I do, I do. Do you want the usual tea, hun?"

Before she could even open her mouth to answer, a very familiar voice echoed behind her.

"I believe that will not be necessary. My dear, your vanilla muffins are waiting. Hurry up before the tea runs cold."

A strong arm wrapped around her small waist, pulling her close to a seemingly just as strong chest. The redhead jolted away before turning around, her hands automatically flying to the face of her captor.

"It's you! I cannot believe I have finally found you." She said, her small hands tracing his features in an attempt to make sure that she was right. If she would have been able to see the look on her friend's face, she would have laughed at the utter confusion that graced her features.

Although he flinched again, he let her study his face, her fingers gingerly slipping over his soft skin, tracing his jawline, cheekbones and finally, his eyes. Retracting her hands, she clapped them together before going to unwrap the scarf from around her neck.

"I believe this is yours." she handed it to him, only to have it pushed back.

"Not anymore, now come along." he pulled her towards a table near the window, helping her sit and pushing her chair closer to the table.

"In front of you there is a plate with three vanilla muffins with chocolate and strawberry frosting and a big cup of Earl Grey tea." she squealed in delight, her hands palming at the table to find the fore-mentioned items.

"Sir, whoever you are, you are AWESOME!" she whispered, taking a bite from one of the muffins and practically moaning in delight.

"Thank you, my dear. I believe your friend called you Alana?" he asked, sipping his own cup of tea.

"Yes, Sir. How about you?" she asked, her blind eyes somehow managing to sparkle with curiosity. She heard his low chuckle and grimaced before continuing to nibble on the muffin.

"Is it of little importance at the moment. There is a reason as to why I wanted to talk to you again." he suddenly changed the subject, making her put the cup down and stay put, feeling uneasy as the atmosphere around them suddenly seemed grave.

"Is it the scarf?" she asked, trying to lighten up the mood. He chuckled a bit, but then silence followed as he continued talking.

"I am interested in the way you lost your sight." she was taken aback by his demand.

Normally, she would have yelled at a stranger asking her something so personal, but there was something in his words that made her stop. She fidgeted with the muffin wrapper, looking for the right words as he sat quietly, waiting for an answer.

"Um...Well. I lost my sight about two years ago, during the New York attack. I'm sure you heard of it? I'm asking cause your accent is weird and it doesn't match a New Yorker. Anyways. There's nothing interesting to it." she shrugged and took a sip of tea before taking a bite of her delicious muffin too.

"How?" was his only reaction, no movement being heard from his direction.  
"What do you mean?"

"You said during the New York attack. But how exactly?"

She sighed heavily, her shoulders slumping a bit.

"That day, I had rehearsals...You see, before the attack, I was a dancer. I was inside a building a couple of blocks down when I heard loud crashes and the whole thing fell down on me. I broke my leg, a couple of ribs and got hit in the head. I was in a coma for 3 weeks and when I woke up I couldn't see anything. Woo. Nothing interesting, like I said." she mumbled, taking an angry bite from her last muffin.

"I see..." he trailed off, his mind wandering back to that dreadful day. This was what he feared, although he didn't want to admit it. Meeting someone whose life was ruined by his actions. Looking at her, he wondered briefly what course could her life had turned if not for the attack. He was so wrapped up in his own mind that he only noticed her speaking as she raised from the chair and started to search her bag for her wallet, cursing out loud as she couldn't find it.

"What are you doing?" he got up, putting a hand on hers, trying to keep her from going away.

"I want to go home. Thank you for everything." she answered him, trying to move away from his hand.

"What happened? What angered you so?" he asked, circling the table to take her hands in his.

"I don't like talking about my past. Especially not with strangers that I barely know. And especially not about how I lost my sight." she almost hissed at him.

"I apologize. You will understand more later. Don't leave yet." she just kept pulling her hands back.

"I'm sorry...I have to." she let out a sob and he released her hands.

"Would you mind calling Cath over? She usually takes the right sum out of my wallet since I can't see and all..."

"You don't have to..." he refused, handing her the scarf.

"This is yours. We shall meet again. I am sorry I upset you."

With a swish of air and the sound of the doorbell, he was gone and she stood dumbfounded in the coffee.


	3. Chapter 3

_Here comes part three! I'm sorry it took so long. Please enjoy._

Summary: The Avengers tease Loki over his sulking and he decides to stalk the redhead once again. They meet at the park. How will she react when he reveals his identity.

* * *

It had been weeks again since she's last seen the mysterious man. She was angry, but for what reason, she couldn't tell. She wouldn't admit it but she considered the possibility that maybe, just maybe, she was angry because someone was trying to get to know her, to get her to talk about herself. To get to her. She wasn't sure she wanted to keep someone so close and to allow them to crawl under her skin.

Sighing loudly, she tossed the scarf aside, deciding it was way too hot outside to use it and made her way to the door, going out before locking it and putting the key in her secret spot.

/To Loki

The Trickster was sitting on the couch at Stark tower, looking blankly at the TV screen (although it wasn't even on) ignoring his brother and Tony who were drinking scotch in the same room, laughing loudly and shouting at each other. Ugh, how he hated it when men acted like pigs. It usually bothered him even more and normally, he would have at least made their glasses blow up, but not today.

He was entirely focused on something else. And that happened to be Alana, the girl he had met on the streets of New York and somehow managed to upset with his curiosity. Was he feeling guilty? Not exactly. He was just feeling bad that he angered her. That was not guilt. He didn't feel guilty. Nope.

With a low grunt, he closed his eyes and started rubbing his temples, trying to push the questions away. What was he going to do? Look for her again? He was pretty sure that he could track her again, even with his limited magic, but would she want to talk to him? Or just ignore him and maybe leave like she did last time. And this time he truly meant no harm! He simply wanted to know if her loss of sight was the result of his actions two years ago, when he wanted to take over Midgard.

A sad smile graced his features when a question popped into his mind. What if it was actually his fault? His powers were limited. He was pretty sure he couldn't do anything about it. But again...why did he even care? He was the Trickster, God of Mischief, Lies and all those bad things and yet here he was wondering if he'd feel guilty...

He jumped a bit when the couch went down around him, signaling that both men decided to sit with him. He growled in annoyance a bit but tried to contain himself, knowing that it would do no good if he fought with his brother and the billionaire.

"What's wrong, Reindeer Games? Love problems?" Tony asked, casually putting an arm around Loki's shoulders. He only growled louder.

"Brother dear, are you alright?" his oaf of a brother asked, looking at him with drunken concern.

"I am fine. Leave me alone." he grunted as he got up, looking out the window at the city he once tried to conquer.

"Ohhhhh, so it's girlfriend probleeeemsssss ~ " The Iron Man cooed, a stupid smirk playing on his face.

"No. And it's none of your business." he muttered before leaving the room and going on the streets to try and maybe find the redhead again.

"I think he's gay." concluded Stark as they watched the man leave.

"GAY? WHAT? NO. MY BABY BROTHER CANNOT BE HOMOSEXUAL."

Suddenly, the rest of the Avengers gathered in the room, all asking the same thing. "Is he gay?"

/Back to Alana.

Sitting on a bench in the small park close to her apartment, she sighed, almost happily as she listened to the small kids playing behind her. Facing the lake, the ones that didn't know about her blindness could have considered that she was simply admiring it, and the ones that knew let her be, since most of them knew about the little game. Occasionally, a friend or one of the nice old ladies would join her, playing said game with her.

However, today she was alone, so closing her eyes and leaning against the bench, she continued imagining what the kids were doing.

Suddenly, she felt movement around her and she turned around, trying to figure out who it was.

"Who's there?" she questioned, feeling a bit nervous, like she usually did when strangers approached her. She knew it was one of her friends or kids asking for help, but she couldn't help it when said person sat down next to her.

"Excuse me? Who is there?" she patted the bench around her until she felt material and then the person clad in said material. It felt like a jacket. A smooth jacket. She retracted her hand.

"I guess you already figured out it's me..." she immediately recognized the voice as belonging to the man she had met before. The pressumably handsome man who gave her the scarf and the walking stick she gripped just a little tighter.

"Hello."

"Are you not going to yell at me and possibly leave?" he asked, half amused, half serious.

"Why would I? It's such a nice day." she sighed happily, smoothing out the dress on her legs as she relaxed on the bench. "So why are you here? To ask more questions?"she smiled slyly, reaching a hand towards him, trying to grip him or a part of his jacket.

"Possibly, but I actually wanted to give you this." he took her hand and put something on it. She palmed it, trying to figure what it was.

"Is it another scarf?" she tried to figure it out.

"Not quite. It's a shawl. Not as thick but it should help you against the cold spring breeze." he informed her, moving to wrap it around her neck.

"Thank you very much. What colour is it?" she briefly wondered if it worked with the outfit she put together. White dress, light brown leather jacket and same colour (or so she hoped) boots. A while back she had her friends help her put up outfits and she just sort of memorized them. But she wasn't always right.

"Green. Just like the scarf." So from what she knew, the shawl worked perfectly. She silently cursed when she felt her cheeks heat up as the man wrapped the shawl around her neck and brushed a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Oh. Awesome. Thank you."

"No need to thank me. I...just I guess I kind of wanted to apologize for angering you last time..." he blurted out.

"You don't have to apologize. I have a short tempter that tends to act up when my past is mentioned. You see, I was a dancer before the attack and it was basically the way I earned my living. I was rehearsing for a show that I worked really hard to get into..." her voice trailed off when she realized she was yet again babbling about her personal life. Ugh.

"Oh...I'm sorry for being so nosy." He was watching her with something close to disdain. He was apologizing. Loki, God of Mischief, Trickster and God of Lies felt bad for a mortal girl and her tragic past. He was feeling guilty. The disdainful look was definitely for him, not her.

Her smiling face turned to him and he needed a minute to realize that she was talking to him.

"Hm?" he inquired.

"I thought I was the disabled one. I said 'You still didn't tell me your name.' " she repeated herself before hearing him sigh.

"There...is a reason as to why I kept my identity secret." he spoke solemnly.

"And what would that reason be, Mystery Guy?" she asked, half amused of the situation, feeling strangely comfortable around this man whose name she still hadn't found out.

"I didn't want you to hate me, like everyone else does." he blurted out again.

"Why would I hate you?" she laughed, turning to completely face him. There was a silence that slowly grew uncomfortable.

"Because I am the reason you lost your sight." he spoke softly, slowly, carefully pronouncing every word to make sure that she fully understood him.

"What?" she reached out, searching for his hand. She caught it and wrapped her smaller ones around it, holding it tightly. "What are you saying? You can't be the reason. A freaking alien ship fell on the building." she desperately tried to reason.

"I am Loki, of Asgard. I brought that 'freaking alien ship' here." his voice sounded darker now, as if it was laced with hatred and it took her a minute to process everything he told her, giving her time to find amusing the way he pronounced the words she had used.

"W-what?!" she immediately let go of his hand and stood, extending her walking stick. "This is wrong. So wrong. I want to go home."

Tears appeared at the corners of her eyes and she turned around, angrily patting her stick at the ground to find her way home as soon as possible.

"You can't. Let me explain." he tried to get her to stay by making her walking stick disappear with a flick of his fingers.

"There is nothing to explain! Give me my stick back. What did you do to it?" she almost shouted as she flailed her hands around.

Eventually she gave up and started walking hastily to the general direction of her apartment.

"Wait, please. You might hurt yourself!" he tried to get her to come back, seeing as she was headed towards the street...But it was a tad bit too late...


End file.
